WE ARE WELL! And now that I have dared to type that, I will spend the rest of the day sanitizing my hands, taking swigs straight from the echinacea bottle, and knocking on every piece of wood within a one-mile radius of my person.

And it’s the holidays! Right! A couple of weeks ago, during a reprieve between viruses, my mother, June, and I managed to bake a double batch of Russian Tea Cakes, a cookie that my mother used to make every year when I was a kid, back when she and our family friend Barbara Fretwell would hole up together in the weeks before Christmas and churn out eight or ten kinds of cookies and candies to pack in decorative tins and distribute to lucky friends around town.

I’ve written before about some of the recipes that my mother and Barbara used, like Chocolate Rads, Espresso-Walnut Toffee, and Fruit-Nut Balls. There were also cranberry-pistachio biscotti, and chocolate-dipped pecan bars with shortbread crust, and a cookie called an Apricot Crescent, with cream cheese-enriched dough and apricot jam inside. They even made mendiants. Opening one of their tins was like looking inside my mother’s jewelry box, rows and piles of color and shine. Maybe next year, I’ll tell you about their Linzer Cookies, the best Linzer specimen I’ve had. But they’re fiddly, and though Mom and I did manage to make some last week, I didn’t take pictures and instead wound up taking a nap. Russian Tea Cakes are easier, even if you’re short on time, energy, and/or holiday spirit, and they’re something that even a two-year-old could help with, sort of, if she doesn’t eat all the dough first.

I imagine you’ve heard of Russian Tea Cakes. They also go by the name Mexican Wedding Cookies, and probably some other names, too. Sometimes, to be frank, when I run across them out in the world, I don’t think Russian Tea Cakes are all that great. Some taste mostly of sugar, or worse, of flour. This makes me cranky. A Russian Tea Cake should be rich, tender, melting almost instantly when you bite into it. As holiday cookie recipes go, this one is plain, bare-bones: just six ingredients, a mixer, maybe 15 minutes to mix up the dough, maybe 15 minutes to roll the cookies, maybe 10 minutes to roll them in powdered sugar. But the return on investment is impressive: these things are so delicate, so buttery, so nutty, that people get grabby in their presence. They’re nothing new, no, but there’s a good reason why we still make them.

The recipe my mother uses was given to her by someone named Nettie Maxwell, the wife of a physician who was once in practice with my dad, and I have a xerox of it, written in Nettie’s looping old-lady script. While I would like to think that Nettie’s version is unique, there are tons of recipes out there for Russian Tea Cakes, and most are very similar to hers. I don’t think any of us can take credit. Nettie used pecans, so Mom and I do, too; it feels like the Oklahoma thing to do. But you could try any other nut: hazelnuts, walnuts, even macadamias.

Happy holidays to you and yours! 2014 marked the tenth year of this site, and I’ve had more fun here, and felt more fired up, than I had in a long time. I hope you felt it, too. I’m looking forward to 2015. In the meantime, we’re closing Delancey and Essex for two weeks to give ourselves and our staff a good, solid vacation. I’m hoping to do some writing and brainstorming, though I may just, I don’t know, take a vacation. Maybe. In any case, thank you for another year! I’ll see you soon.

Recipe

Russian Tea Cakes

From my mother, via Nettie Maxwell

My mother’s version doesn’t call for toasting the pecans, but I think the cookies would be best if you toasted them. And it would be easy to do: before chopping them, pop them in a 325°F oven for a few minutes, until they’re fragrant. Allow to cool, and then chop away.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with handheld beaters), combine the butter, ½ cup powdered sugar, and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating just to blend. Add the pecans, and mix just a little more, until the nuts are incorporated. Use your hands to gather the dough into a ball, pressing in any runaway nuts. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 375°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, and allow it to soften for about 10 minutes before handling it. Pinch off small lumps of dough, roll them into 1-inch balls, and space them evenly on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until they are set but not browning – though, yes, the undersides will brown slightly. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Put some powdered sugar in a pie plate or shallow bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar, and then set them on a cooling rack. The sugar will only coat them lightly, and they may feel a little sticky. Cool them completely, and then roll them a second time.

Yield: about 40 cookies

Filed under:

Comments

My mom has requested I make these this year and I kept putting off looking for a recipe and then, ta da!, Orangette has a new post. Are you in Christmas cahoots with my mom? Continued wellness to your family.

These are my mother's favorite of the many Christmas cookies she made each year when we were kids. Just yesterday I mailed a batch off to my parents and brother, a small act of reciprocity that makes me happy this time of year. Our recipe is identical (I'm from Iowa, btw), and we always use pecans, too.Thank you for sharing this, and for this lovely site of yours.

Molly! I'm so glad you're all finally well. I feel much like you do: my God, it's the holidays already! I spent most of November sick myself with mastitis and blocked ducts due to stress, and after being well for all of a week, whammo, a nasty cold (including fever!) for my son, my husband, & myself. The adult set is feeling mostly better but the 18-mo-old is still getting over a horrendous cough, and for that I have to thank you for your link to the homemade vaporub a couple posts back. I made it yesterday and last night there was less coughing, less crying, and generally better sleep all around. We are all happier today.

Anyway, enjoy your vacation and I do hope you manage to make it be just –a vacation. Happy holidays to you and yours. (btw, please forgive the perhaps overly familiar tone…I seem to be in a particularly friendly mood this morning, perhaps thanks to better sleep?)

Hi Molly- Thanks for posting this and jiggling my memory…my mother always made these, and they were the delicious, meltinyourmouth variety- She called them Butter Nut Balls! I made them too, before mind and time numbing technology came, so this holiday season I am going to make them again…have a great vacation!

What a wonderful post to wake up to! My mom used to make Russian teacakes every year and they were one of my favorites, along with Thumbprint Cookies. My mom died nine years ago on December 31, so this is the 9th Christmas I've spent without her and I miss her very much. She loved this time of year. Seeing your little June making cookies with her grandma just warms my heart and makes me grateful for all of the time I did have with my mom. Thank you, Molly. One of these days I will make it to Delancey so my daughter and I can finally meet you! Merry Christmas to you and yours.

My sure fire cure for any bug that dares to come near me is…empty a bottle of echinacea (is that spelled right???) into a glass and squeeze a whole lemon (preferably Meyers lemon) …mix… Down in one swig

One time I was visiting my step son and his wife, his 1 1/2 yr old and himself.. Were all sick with some horrible head cold picked up from daycare (the biggest germfest anywhere). By the time we left my throat was beginning something…

No echinacea in the house.. Only thing available was an old bottle of rye.

I went to school in a very small town, Fargo, OK, and our wonderful cooks (German farm women who brought thick cream from home to whip for the Jello with fruit cocktail) would make these cookies fairly often. I didn't know then how lucky we were!

Yup, these are popular all around the world. My Italian grandma made them and just called them “Delectables” — cuz they were! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank YOU for an always delectable readt

Every year at Christmas a family friend makes me a whole nut container full of Mexican Wedding Cookies. They are my absolute favorite! The way that she makes them is the best that I have tasted. They melt in my mouth and I can't stop at just one! I look forward to them every year!

My German grandmother made a version I loved with 1/2 the butter but twice the pecans. They were rolled into little logs and curved in a crescent, and called Pecan Fingers. Talk about fragile – she'd send them to me at college and I'd get a box of very tasty crumbs!

It's so funny, I intended to make these yesterday using the recipe my grandma uses, and woke up to this post. I compared and the recipes are identical! Although hers also doesn't call for toasting, I took your suggestion and they were fabulous. Thank you.

My mother also made these every Christmas. The ones rolled in powdered sugar she called Russian Tea Cakes and then she rolled some in red and green sugar and called those Mexican Wedding Cookies. I actually bought all the stuff to make them this year but have not gotten around to it yet. But hey, I still have a couple days.

Almonds work too – not traditional but my allergic kid (also an Emily) can do almonds, and loves these. And if you are short on time you can put the powdered sugar in a container or bag and shake a few cookies at a time – gently. Works fine. Saves time to make more cookies.

We call these Butter Balls, and I'm pretty sure I've never had a Christmas without them! In fact I talked with my mom yesterday, and she'd just made some, and I will be making some for friends tonight! On another note, I've been obsessed with making Aunt Bill's Brown Candy ever since I read your first book, and finally did it. You were right – the work that goes into it is no joke. I actually got a blister from gripping the wooden spoon during the final phase of beating the candy to get rid of the glossy shine!

We make similar dough for Linzer Cookies. You cut out cookies of many shapes and assemble them with a good jam. We make them ahead of time because they soften when stored. About 1-2 weeks or so.. Thank you for this post.

I just came by here remembering your blog from years ago… It is still here!! : )

I love russian tea cakes or “mexican wedding cakes” as I've know them… Although russsian tea cake does sound very familiar. Haven't made them in years but was actually considering it this last week for a tea party. Fun stuff!

Merry Christmas and happy vacation!! I'm late to the party, but wanted to extend greetings, regardless. I got too burned out with all the holiday hoopla and general goings on to do much baking, but this recipe has given me my motivation to try them. I'll call them after the party cookies. Thanks for sharing!

Hi, Molly. Just wanted to let any readers know that I added 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to this recipe without any other changes (my husband was very upset I was considering a non-chocolate cookie) and they turned out perfectly.

I hope you had a very merry Christmas and wishing you a happy new year, as well.

these are favorites of my dad and me. This year I had to travel for work and had to cut back on the Christmas chores – I told my mom we could bake cookies when we arrived at her house for the holiday. Apparently she wanted to cut back on work as well because she told us we had to bake our cookies out of these pre-rolled out, prepared cookie dough. In terms of working with my toddler, who just wanted to fling icing and sprinkles on everything, they worked out fine – but they did nothing for our adult souls. I will be making a DOUBLE batch of Russian tea cookies next year. Oh! I gave your book to two people for Christmas and they are already cooking recipes from it!

These cookies look really good, a bit of a change from shortbreads or snicker doodle cookies (they seem like a bit of a cross between both, with nuts). I love the idea of you baking your Mum's recipes, and it's lovely to read that you still bake with your Mum, even if you forgot to take pictures. I hope you have a great New Year.http://www.davidgriffen.co.uk/food-photography-blog

I just wanted to wish you and your family a happy new year and to thank you for the wonderful apricot macaroon tart (I cant remember the name you gave it). The apricots in Adelaide this year are just divine and we had the family over for lunch so I knocked their socks off with your tart. Many thanks!!

Just before Christmas, my friend gave me a jar of homemade grenadine. So instead of giving her back an empty jar (that is so rude) I made a batch of your Russian Tea cookies to thank her for the grenadine. These are so good! Thank you!

My grandma, Velma Small used to adapt these at Christmas by putting a filling of crushed candy canes, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and a little milk to mix. Then she’d make a hole for the filling, cover it with more dough and when they came out of the oven, roll them in a 1/2 powered sugar 1/2 crushed candy cane mix. Just made 6 dozen. My son loves them!

I was so excited when I saw this recipe as I thought my dear departed mother took her famous Russian tea cakes to the grave. I just spent the last hour trying to make these cookies but I am convinced the recipe is wrong. You call for 2 1/4 cups of flour – – as I was mixing the flour in after one cup, I thought – – this is much too much flour and sure enough by the time I folded the full 2 1/4 cups of flour into the butter mixture, it would no longer adhere to the butter. I had no choice but to throw the whole thing away – – hoping someone will get back to me and let me know if I’m right and the recipe is wrong with waaaay too much flour called for and it should more like one cup of flour — or what did I do wrong?

Mark, I wonder if you accidentally mismeasured the butter? I just did some Googling to see how my recipe compared to other recipes for the same cookies, and it’s almost identical to most of them. (Here’s Epicurious, for instance.) The recipe here is correct. I wish I could be of more help!

I’ve tried making these numerous times and always ended up with the same result, doughy like they aren’t fully cooked, not crunchy like shortbread cookies should be, no matter how long or what temp I cook them at..I don’t understand where I’m going wrong 🙁

That’s so strange! I’ve made four batches from this recipe this week. What brand and type of flour are you using? I wonder if you need to cook them a bit longer? They will develop tiny cracks (hair-width) along the top when they’re ready, but they will still feel a bit soft until they cool.